Student Philanthropy Shines Through

Scholarships endowed by Angelo State alumni, donors and friends number in the hundreds, but only one ASU scholarship was formed completely by the students.

Lauren Nowlin

The Ram Family Student Scholarship began as an idea floated at a Student Government Association (SGA) meeting in the summer of 2015. May 2016 graduate Jarett Lujan was SGA president at the time.

“The idea started out as a school spirit initiative,” Lujan said. “The whole idea was ‘We Take Care of Our Own,’ and we wanted to spread that message. It developed from there into a student scholarship through student philanthropy. It’s students giving back to students so that we take care of our own.”

To fund the scholarship, SGA members launched a publicity campaign and conducted a series of fundraising events in February 2016.

“We ran our campaign mostly in the University Center,” Lujan said. “We had cupcakes, cookies and other items that we gave to students who donated. All the items were in our school colors to spread school spirit. We also made donation cards that students could put their names on when they donated and post the cards on a wall, kind of like how you see at Stripes convenience store fundraisers.”

“We also gave away ‘We Take Care of Our Own’ bracelets to students who donated,” he added. “The names of everyone who donated also went into a drawing for a prize pack of ASU memorabilia that was awarded at the end of the campaign.”

By the close of the campaign, SGA had raised $1,167 through student donations, which was supplemented with $1,116 from the ASU President’s Circle. The first $500 Ram Family Student Scholarship was awarded this fall to Lauren Nowlin, an English major from Del Rio, with the remaining funds going into an endowment with the ASU Foundation for future scholarships.

“It’s very rewarding to think about how the scholarship started as just a concept in the summer of 2015 and has become a reality.”

Jarett Lujan

“It’s very rewarding to think about how the scholarship started as just a concept in the summer of 2015 and has become a reality,” Lujan said. “It’s also cool to see the change in students’ perception of SGA. We’ve always been for the students, but now we’re more of a presence on campus and showing students that their student government is there for them and wants to help students who need it.”

“It’s a very well-rounded scholarship,” he added. “Every student on campus is eligible and there is no GPA requirement. We are looking for well-rounded students who are involved on campus and still achieving academically. But you have to apply for the scholarship, and we encourage all students to apply.”

Anyone wishing to contribute to the scholarship endowment fund can contact SGA or the ASU Office of Development.

Tom Nurre

Tom Nurre is a news and information specialist at Angelo State University. E-mail Tom at tom.nurre@angelo.edu.